Best Western Hotels & Resorts recently opened the Best Western Premier Panbil in Batam, Indonesia. Featuring 233 rooms and suites, the hotel is situated in Batam’s Panbil Industrial Estate – a major commercial and residential hub just 14 kilometers from the Hang Nadim Airport and 15 kilometers from the International Ferry Terminal. Additional facilities at the hotel include an outdoor pool, a spa, a fitness center, two F&B outlets including a rooftop restaurant, and extensive function space for both corporate and social events. Best Western Premier Panbil represents Best Western’s fifteenth hotel in Indonesia and its first in Batam. Batam is an island in Indonesia, accessible from Singapore via a 45-minute ferry ride.

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has inked a management agreement to open its first property in Maldives – the Mövenpick Resort & Spa Kuredhivaru Maldives. Slated to open during the second quarter of 2018, the resort will feature 33 beach villas and 72 over-water villas. Resort facilities will include a luxury spa with 14 private treatment rooms, a yoga pavilion, volleyball and tennis courts, and a gym, in addition to a business center, a library and a retail boutique. The property will also feature a comprehensive dive center, a beach sports activity center, a guest-only super-yacht, a small scale marine research center and a private marina. Mövenpick Resort & Spa Kuredhivaru Maldives is located on the remote Kuredhivaru Island in Noonu Atoll, in the northern part of the Maldives. It is a 15-minute speedboat ride from the first Marine National Park in the Maldives, which consists of nine uninhabited islands known as Edu Faru. The popular scenic spot, Christmas Tree Rock and Orimas Thila dive sites are also nearby and accessible by boat.

From 7 May 2017, Qatar Airways is going to introduce a third daily non-stop route from Doha’s Hamad International Airport (HIA) to Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali. The airline offered its first direct service to Bali in 2014, later enhancing this to a twice daily frequency. Prior to this, Qatar Airways served the destination via a touchdown in Singapore. The new direct flight will operate with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, increasing its daily seat capacity by 35 per cent. The route is currently operated by a Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft on its existing double-daily offering. The additional flight is expected to be popular for those travelling from Qatar Airways’ extensive route network in Europe, the Middle East and the United States, as travel time to Bali will be significantly reduced with just one quick international transfer at Doha’s HIA.

Long-haul airline company, Norwegian Air Shuttle plans to launch a 13-hour flight from London’s Gatwick Airport to Changi Airport in Singapore on 28 September 2017. The new flight will become the longest direct route offered by an ultra-low cost carrier. One-way economy tickets will be priced from S$199 while for premium economy, prices will begin at S$893 one way. Norwegian UK will operate the new four-times weekly service on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, before increasing the frequency up to five times per week in winter (October to March). The new Singapore route sets a milestone for Norwegian’s goals to expand its long-haul network into new global markets including Asia, according to a statement from the airline.